Students out of jail after hostage drama

The students who were arrested for holding hostage two senior managers and staging an illegal gathering at the troubled Durban University of Technology were yesterday released from jail.

Their release comes after the university management dropped charges against them.

The university management yesterday also decided to close down the institution and suspended all academic activities and lectures until Monday.

Student protests have been going on since last week when student leaders held hostage two staff members on campus.

There has been tension on campus following violent confrontations between students and police since the start of the year. Students were shot at with rubber bullets after allegedly stoning police vehicles.

Negotiations on lack of accommodation, which triggered the protest, deadlocked when members of the South African Student Congress were jailed.

The SRC's Sifiso Mdakane said they were relieved their arrested members had been released "so that negotiations could now continue".